URL Weekly 10/13

Next-level reporting. Innovative Black & Brown publishers.

Friday, October 13, 2023

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Today is Friday, and we’re highlighting stories from across the URL Media network, including URL Media partner Documented’s recent impact on New York’s horse racing industry, changes in an Oklahoma school district, and an account of Latinos uniting against a book ban…and winning. —Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

🐎 Gaming commission may revoke horse trainers’ licenses for wage theft: One month after Documented published an investigation into wage theft faced by immigrant workers in New York’s horse racing industry, state regulators have announced new reforms they say will hold employers accountable. Read more here.

📚 Ill. has banned book bans, but there’s more work to be done: Activists in Illinois have helped pass legislation that withholds state funding from libraries that remove books for partisan or personal disapproval. However, they say more needs to be done to fight censorship. Prism has more here.

🌱 Recreational weed is now legal in Minn. What does that mean for the state’s hemp industry?: Conflict between Minnesota’s hemp and marijuana industries has intensified recently, setting up the state to serve as a national testing ground to see whether the two industries can coexist. Sahan Journal has more here.

🚫 Fla.’s anti-illegal immigration law continues to raise concerns: The law, which went into effect over the summer, cracks down on unauthorized labor and imposes a series of immigration-related restrictions, leaving many people concerned about its potential social and economic impact on the state. palabra. has more here.

⛓ UN panel says inhumane prison conditions in US perpetuate slavery: Earlier this month, a United Nations panel placed the U.S. criminal justice system in a “singular category” on the world stage, documenting what it described as “shocking” violations of basic human rights that highlight “devastating” racial disparities. Black Voice News has more here.

🚘 How does the UAW strike affect the local Detroit economy?: It’s hard to measure the economic impacts of an ongoing strike on a city’s larger economy, but labor relations experts say businesses that rely on autoworkers’ dollars, like hotels and food shops around auto plants, will be first to feel the effects. Outlier Media has more here.

Join us in celebrating the launch of URL Media’s new hub for independent journalism by Black and Brown publishers! Discover the stories and perspectives that matter. Check it out here.

✊🏽 Native women are working to end the MMIW crisis: Our Body Politic shines a light on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis with special guests: Lorna Cuny and Darlene Gomez of the Medicine Wheel Ride; co-founder of Syke Women Beauty Alecia Onzahwah; and co-director of “We Ride For Her” Prairie Rose Seminole. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

🇩🇴 The impact of the Dominican-Haitian border closing: The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, closed its border to Haitians on September 14 and has stopped issuing visas to Haitians indefinitely. The Haitian Times recently spoke with three Haitians whose lives were turned upside down due to the border closure. Read more here. (paywalled)

🏫 New superintendent provides state with update on Tulsa Public Schools: As interim Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools (TPS), Dr. Ebony Johnson recently provided the state with an update on the school district, which comes after recommendations by the state’s board of education that TPS must improve student literacy and overall school performance. The Oklahoma Eagle has more here.

👩🏾‍🎓 From the White House to the National Urban League’s Washington Bureau: Tara Murray, a notable member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, recently left her role at the White House to join the National Urban League. Watch The Yard highlights her journey here.

🧑🏽 Washington State confronts Indian boarding school past with new committee: Washington State’s Attorney General’s office has formed a new committee to collect oral testimonies and recommend how the state can address present-day harms caused by Indian boarding school policies. Native News Online has more here.

💕 Promoting body positivity and mental wellness with henna: Brooklyn-based henna artist Natalia “Naty” Zamparini uses her henna sessions to affirm, uplift and hold space for her clients — important aspects of her life that were missing from her previous corporate career. Epicenter-NYC has her story here.

👨🏽‍🏫 When Latinos fought against the book ban and won: In 2010, Arizona Republicans passed a law to ban a successful Mexican American Studies program at Tucson High School. But what they didn’t expect was how far the Latino community would go to defend the right to learn about their history. 🎧 Find out more in this week’s episode of The Pulso Podcast.

Sara Lomax-Reese, CEO of WURD Radio, media entrepreneur for almost 30 years, served as Program Lead for the inaugural Facebook BIPOC Sustainability Accelerator and is a former John S. Knight Fellow.

S. Mitra Kalita, former SVP at CNN Digital, current CEO & Publisher at Kalita Mukul Creative Inc., which publishes Epicenter-NYC, The Unmuted and The Escape Home has worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The LA Times, and has launched brands like Mint and Quartz.

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